Hey, hey, hey! Thanks for those who reviewed and here's the next chapter! Comments will be at the end. ^-^

Echokit knew she was in serious trouble as soon as Hawkstar laid his eyes on her and Rowankit. The worry in them was evident but was all but smothered by anger. As he stalked up to them, Echokit forced herself not to flinch and just lifted her head defiantly and met his gaze.

"Where have you two been?" he snarled, glaring mostly at his daughter, as if he somehow assumed it was her idea.

"In the forest," she answered calmly. Inside, however, she felt a spark of something. Fear, she supposed. She saw Rowankit stare at his paws out of the corner of her eye.

"Did you have any idea how worried you made us? Leaving in the middle of the night when no one knew where you had gone!" her father lashed his tail angrily and Echokit cocked her head. What was so wrong about going into the forest? And it was DAWN, not the middle of the night! She thought.

"We didn't mean to make you worry though!" Rowankit burst out, looking helplessly at Echokit.

By now, every cat was surrounding them. Echokit saw Dawnfeather mutter something to Shineheart and the brown she-cat answered with a nod of her head. Echokit caught the eye of Petalstream, ThunderClan's deputy, and saw amusement and caution in her gaze. The white she-cat gave a slight shake of her head which Echokit understood to mean, don't do anything more stupid right now.

"Well?" Hawkstar snapped and she realized she had missed what he'd said.

She looked up at him. "What?"

"I said, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"All we wanted to do was run around and Jaypath wouldn't let us go out into the camp until you all woke up so we decided to go explore!" Echokit meowed, seeking out the queen in the mass of cats. Jaypath's expression was unreadable.

"We really didn't mean any harm Hawkstar," Rowankit added lamely.

"It doesn't matter what you meant to do, it's what happened anyway that's the problem!" the ThunderClan leader hissed venomously. Echokit's eyes stretched wide. Why was Hawkstar so mad at one little adventure?

Closing his eyes, he continued. "You both are not to leave the nursery for seven sunrises, is that clear? Not even to come into this clearing."

Echokit stared at him in shock. "B-but, that's not fair!" she wailed. "Kits have left the camp before and they never got punished this harshly!"

"Only because they didn't have the threat of RiverClan hanging over their heads like branches from the trees!" Hawkstar growled deeply.

RiverClan? What did those fish-breath cats have to do with anything? Echokit vaguely thought maybe it was worry forcing her father to do this but she pushed it away. "But why do we have to be prisoners in our own den just because we went into the forest?"

Rowankit touched her with his tail tip to quiet her but, frustrated, she shook him off and leapt to her paws. She pushed her face up as far as it would go. "I think you just don't want us to have any fun!"

A sharp cuff on the head sent her tumbling onto the ground. She lifted her head, dazed, and realized Hawkstar had just hit her in front of every cat. Why did he do that?

Featherpool, the gentle Medicine Cat, padded forward quickly and snapped, "Hawkstar, calm yourself! You do not cuff two moon old kits, it can seriously harm them!" She picked Echokit up by the scruff and licked her a few times. "Are you okay?"

Echokit felt her pelt heat up with embarrassment and shame. She nodded, not looking up from the ground.

There was a deadly silence which was broken by Hawkstar. "Seven sunrises, and that is final!" he snarled, before stalking off to his den and disappearing inside. Featherpool shook her head and huffed.

"That cat needs to control his temper sometimes!" the gray she-cat muttered.

Echokit had the decency to glance up and meow a quick "Thanks." She turned to Rowankit who was staring at her in concern. Without acknowledging his worry, she turned her back to all the cats and padded to the nursery with her tail leaving a trail in the dust.

0o0o

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Highledge for a Clan meeting!"

Echokit flicked her ears as Hawkstar's call rang around the clearing. She looked up from the moss ball she and Pinekit were playing with. Rowankit, Tanglekit, and Tinykit were getting their apprentice names today and Echokit couldn't help a stab of jealousy when she thought about how much longer it was until she was an apprentice.

"Come on, Echokit!" Pinekit meowed excitedly, already racing away with Echokit at his heels.

It had been two moons since Echokit and Rowankit had been punished and she had been staying out of trouble. Well, she disobeyed orders a lot but always somehow managed to not get caught. Rowankit, her once loyal companion, now would hardly do more than glance at her before looking away. The air was always stung high with tension and awkwardness when they were around each other. Echokit couldn't understand why, exactly, her friend was acting like he didn't want to hang around her anymore. He'd been acting so strange ever since they'd been reprimanded publicly by their leader.

As the creamy kit took her spot beside her brother and Featherpool, she saw Jaypath giving her kit one last grooming while Sandfur, the father, looked as proud as could be. Her pelt prickled with expectation when Rowankit caught her eye but her heart dropped when he looked quickly away.

"Have you noticed that Rowankit never talks to us anymore?" she asked Pinekit who was licking his dark pelt.

Pinekit shrugged. "He talks to me."

Echokit rolled her eyes. Her brother could be so dense sometimes. She looked at her friends, the cats she considered littermates, and felt a tug of sorrow. Jaypath would be moving back to the warriors den and returning to her duties so that meant her and Pinekit would have it all to themselves. Woohoo…she thought dryly.

Hawkstar stood tall and proud, looking down at the cats before him with wise amber eyes. The sun shone on his pelt, lightening it and accenting his broad should and muscular body. Echokit looked at herself. Being small, the broad shoulders were lost on her, along with the gangly limbs both her father and brother possessed. The only thing that even remotely resembled the strong leader in front of her was the same narrow face and slight ears.

"Tinykit, step forward," Hawkstar instructed, motioning for the trembling she-cat to come. The silver soon to be apprentice looked as if a pack of wild dogs were on her tail.

She must be worried about getting a bad mentor, Echokit thought sympathetically. Judging by the fear sent coming off her, it wasn't hard to assume.

"From this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Tinypaw."

Tinypaw's blue eyes shone with happiness when Hawkstar called for her mentor.

"Fishleap," he said with his voice even. "You are strong and wise. I know you will pass on these qualities to Tinypaw."

"Tinypaw! Tinypaw! Tinypaw!" the cats called out, Echokit the loudest. She loved Tinypaw like a sister and was glad to finally see her as an apprentice. Soon, it'll be my turn.

As Tinypaw and the pale ginger tabby withdrew into the crowd of cats, Hawkstar called for Tanglekit. The light brown tom looked slight frightened and Echokit could see his darker paws shaking as he padded forth.

"Tanglekit, for this day forward and until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Tanglepaw," the ThunderClan leader announced. "Adderflight."

Echokit gasped as the mean tomcat stepped forward to touch noses with his apprentice.

"You are a loyal warrior and I trust that you will be a great mentor to this apprentice."

Great mentor? Echokit shuddered at the thought of him laying those cold eyes on her. Glad he isn't going to be MY mentor! She thought.

"Tanglepaw! Tanglepaw! Tanglepaw!"

"Rowankit!" Hawkstar commanded, an amused growl lowering his voice. The ginger tom leaped forward eagerly, not showing even slightest sign of what his siblings were feeling.

"From this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you shall be known as Rowanpaw. Windfur." Rowanpaw's tail twitched as he turned to his new mentor. "You are brave and cautious. I leave Rowanpaw to you and I trust you to teach him well."

Windfur dipped her head and touched noses with her apprentice. Rowanpaw's blue eyes shone brightly and Echokit had to look away. As the Clan called his name, she stayed silent. If he was going to act like he didn't care then so was she. Two could play at that game.

The cats broke up, some returning to the warrior's den and some slipping out of the barrier to hunt or patrol. Lionpaw, one of the older apprentices walked over to Rowanpaw and Tanglepaw.

"Hey, want to join us on a border patrol? Sunwhisper said it was fine if Windfur and Adderflight would allow you to come," the huge golden tabby suggested easily. Being only a kit, Echokit didn't really know the older apprentices very well. All she knew was that Ivypaw had been kind to her one time, allowing Echokit to nibble on the mouse she had caught.

"That'll be great! I'll go ask Windfur!" Rowanpaw meowed excitedly, dashing off to find his mentor. Lionpaw turned to Tanglepaw.

"How about you?"

Tanglepaw shook his head. "Sorry, but Adderflight already promised to take me to explore the territory. Maybe another time?"

Lionpaw nodded before going off to find Rowanpaw. Echokit turned to her brother. "Come on," she exclaimed. "Let's go congratulate them!"

The littermates bounded off to Tanglepaw and Echokit purred. "Congratulations Tanglepaw!" Pinekit added teasingly, "Yeah, now it'll be no fun with just her." He flicked his sister with his tail playfully.

The light brow tom shuffled his paws and looked slightly embarrassed. "Thanks," he mumbled before walking away. Echokit stared after him curiously.

"What's got his fur in a ruffle?" she asked, looking at Pinekit who shrugged. Spotting Tinypaw with Fishleap, Echokit went over to them. Pinekit, however, beat her to it.

"Hi Tinypaw!" he mewed enthusiastically. "Congratulations on becoming an apprentice!" Echokit looked at her brother. Why did he suddenly seem so cheerful when moments ago he looked slightly bored?

Weird…she observed before breaking into a purr and pushing up against her friend. "Yeah, it's going to feel so strange without you guys there!"

The silver apprentice, blue eyes wide with joy and pride, purred loudly. "I know, and I'll miss you both. But only two more moons and you'll be joining us in our den."

"I can't wait! I'm going to be the best warrior in the Clan!" Pinekit announced, his tail sticking straight up. Already as big as the older apprentices, Echokit didn't find it hard to imagine her brother as a great, strong warrior. However, she would never admit to such a thing. Never wanting to be left out, she stood up as tall as her small frame would allow. When up straight, she was slightly bigger than Tinypaw.

"Yeah? Well I'm going to be leader one day!" she proclaimed.

"Is that so?" a deep voice purred from behind them. Echokit spun around and saw that it was her father that was standing before her. Not feeling the least bit intimidated by the huge tom, she lifted her chin.

"That's right. You can bet your nine lives it'll be me one day up there," she answered. As an awkward afterthought, she hastily meowed, "Of course, that's a long way away. I hope you…um…won't be joining StarClan for a while." She felt her ears heat up with embarrassment as the sounds of laughter came from her brother and Tinypaw. And was it her imagination or did Hawkstar's whiskers twitch? Humph. I'll show them.

"Come on Tinypaw," Fishleap meowed after a moment of silence had passed. "Let's go and look at the territory."

"Great!" the she-cat exclaimed, following her mentor out of the camp. Echokit looked longingly after them. She felt a pelt brush hers and met her brother's blue eyes.

"Don't worry Echokit," he whispered warmly. "One day that'll be us leaving the camp with our mentors." She just nodded solemnly. Two moons felt like forever at this point.

It was a bit after sun-high and cats were longing lazily around the camp. Echokit saw Stormstripe sharing tongues with Dawnfeather, while Hollyfrost and Littlewhisker sat talking together. Mouseclaw was coaxing Goldenmist from out of the Elder's den and Echokit overheard the cranky gray-brown tom in one of his rare moments of tenderness.

"Come on Goldenmist," he rasped gently, nosing her into the sunlight. "Some sun will do you good today."

The once-pretty golden she-cat flicked her blind green eyes around the camp warily. "Are you sure it's okay?" she asked.

A purr rumbled in Mouseclaw's throat. He flicked his tail lightly at his mate. "I wouldn't tell you to come out if it wasn't."

Echokit turned away, feeling as if she was intruding on something intimate by listening. She went to go find Featherpool while Pinekit disappeared off somewhere. She located the Medicine Cat in her den, sorting through herbs and berries Echokit had never been able to remember the names of.

"Hello Echokit," Featherpool meowed absently, not looking up from her work.

"Hi." Echokit sat down, staring at the gray cat. After a few moments, Featherpool looked up.

"Yes?" she asked the creamy kit. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Echokit shrugged. "I'm bored," she answered simply.

Featherpool looked amused. "And how am I supposed to fix that?"

Echokit looked startled. She actually hadn't thought of that. "I dunno…I kinda just thought…"

"What, that I would just wave my paws, throw in some herbs, and then you would have something to do?"

Echokit stayed silent, not wanting to say that, yes, she had thought that; or something of that sort. However, her silence was enough of an answer for the old Medicine Cat.

"I see," she purred, going back to her sorting and counting. "Sorry, kit, but StarClan doesn't grant me that power. You and your brother really need to become apprentices. Anymore of 'I'm bored' and 'play with me' and I think every cat is going to go crazy."

Echokit purred. "You know you'll miss it, Featherpool."

Featherpool shrugged. "Perhaps." Echokit's tail curled u in amusement. Saying goodbye to her friend, she stepped back into the clearing. She looked around but every cay was busy or didn't look up to talking with her.

Echokit glanced at the forest and the trees and had a sneaky thought. With her body low to the ground and casting a quick glance around, she slipped silently into the dirt tunnel and out into the forest.

There ya go! Not the most exciting chapter, but it gets better in the next few chapters. That's when we learn more about the mysterious threat from RiverClan….*ominous music* LOL Comment please, and I'll love you. ^-^

To the reviewer(s):

Mistyflower68: THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT! It really means a lot to me and I hope it'll bring more people to read and review this story. Thanks again! *throws cookie to you*